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PROVO — BYU's run game has struggled through the first two games of the 2023 season, for a variety of reasons.
Whether by opponents' defense, new faces on the offensive line, or acclimatization of a new running back room that includes UNLV transfer Aidan Robbins and Colorado's Deion Smith, the Cougars have rushed for just 158 yards and four touchdowns on 57 attempts in wins over Sam Houston and Southern Utah.
The highlight of that group has been LJ Martin, who leads the team with 118 yards in the first two games of his freshman campaign — all off the bench. But he won't be a substitute this weekend as BYU (2-0) hits the road to face SEC foe Arkansas.
The freshman from El Paso, Texas, will start at running back against the Razorbacks (2-0), offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick told reporters Wednesday evening after practice.
"LJ's gonna start this game, Aidan's gonna play too, and so is Deion," Roderick said. "But LJ's gonna start this game. ... He's breaking tackling."
As for the offensive line, Roderick doesn't envision any major changes or shuffling of names or positions. At least, he isn't saying so.
"I like those guys. I believe in those guys," he said. "I believe in what we are doing, and I think those guys are going to play well on Saturday."
Robbins has 29 yards on 10 carries, averaging 2.9 yards per carry with limited reps, for the Cougars. Smith has 14 yards on 10 plays, a 1.4-yards per carry average that includes the lone touchdown from the running back room.
In BYU's 2-0 start to the season, the Cougars haver averaged just 2.8 yards per rush and 79.0 yards per game. Part of the deficiency has been a Sam Houston team led by a stout defense in its transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision, made known by a Bearkats squad that also held Air Force to 244 yards on the ground in the Falcons' 13-3 win last weekend.
BYU ran for 112 yards against the Bearkats, but then seemingly took a step back with just 46 yards on 23 attempts against Southern Utah. Both Roderick and head coach Kalani Sitake have mentioned that as a conscious choice, crediting a Thunderbird defense that dropped its safeties seven yards from the line of scrimmage and "dared (BYU) to pass" for 348 yards and four touchdowns from Kedon Slovis.
But that isn't an excuse, center-turned-right guard Connor Pay said Wednesday. The Cougars have to do better — particularly on the offensive line. While his head coach Kalani Sitake insists the BYU offensive line "is going to be fine," Pay knows the Cougar maulers up front have work to do, even in a group that features a lot of new faces from transfers Paul Maile (Utah), Weylin Lapuaho (Utah State) and Caleb Etienne (Oklahoma State) — to say nothing of positional changes like Pay or Etienne, who started at left tackle with the Cowboys and has moved to right tackle.
For all of those reasons, and likely more, neither Roderick or Sitake believe it's time to panic along the offensive line. Not yet, at least.
"We'll be able to run the ball this year," the coordinator said, before launching into his explanation of the lack of run against Southern Utah and giving credit to the opponent. "There's going to be another game some time where some one takes away the pass and dares us to run it. That's when we've got to prove that we can run it."
Martin, for his part, has provided a spark on the ground, though mostly in the second half. The former 6,150-yard rusher at Canutillo High in west Texas was a signing day flip for the Cougars, negating on a prior commitment to Stanford after David Shaw stepped down with the Cardinal and making known his allegiance to his new school months a couple of months later.
"He's played really well. He's done remarkably well for how young he is, and how hard he runs," Pay said. "He's made us look good on a few runs where we didn't block as well as we should have. There was one play against SUU, the 17-yard run that he had, where I didn't do a very good job on my guy. I lost leverage on him, and he broke the tackle and went for 17.
"All the running backs have the ability to do that, and LJ has been doing that really well for the first two games. It's a little unprecedented to have that impact immediately. ... It's been really fun to watch. He has a really bright future."
Even early in fall camp, BYU knew what it had in Martin. The tailback who will be the first freshman to start a game since Jamaal Williams was a star through training camp, even as Roderick has often said he doesn't like to heap too much praise on young players.
With Martin, it was deserved.
"LJ Martin is a standout in camp so far," Roderick told BYUtv last month. "He's one of the best players on this team. He will play this year. He's a very good football player. ... I try not to get too excited about freshman sometimes, but he's already proven that he's going to be a player for us this season."
BYU also got some good news on offense with the return of Keanu Hill to the wide receiver room, and the 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior took advantage of his three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Kody Epps was also on schedule to return to return from injury Saturday against Arkansas. But Roderick said the star wide out suffered a "little setback" in practice, and his availability on the weekend has been called into question once again.
"He's a good player, and he brings a lot of toughness, a veteran presence," Roderick said of Hill. "He's just a tough guy who plays with a lot of confidence, and I think the other guys feed off his energy.
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